


Truth and Trudge

by SWAG_77



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Death Watch, Empire, F/M, Jedi, Mandalorian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-06-05 05:45:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6691987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SWAG_77/pseuds/SWAG_77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bo-Katan rapidly rose through the ranks after Pre Vizsla was killed by Darth Maul. But she still was not allowed to become Death Watch Overlord. Leadership was left to a Mandalorian Commander, Lorka Gedyc of House Gedyc. Longtime Death Watch house since the days of its founding in Mandalorian culture. But he also had ulterior motive, which Bo-Katan unwittingly got involved when she found Obi-Wan Kenobi and begged him to help her salvage a brand new Separatists Recusant Prototype ship silent in a grave shipyard. Her bond to Kenobi was unbreakable and now, unchangeable. Bo-Katan either leaves her Mandalorian heritage behind and join a new fight, or stay and rebuild though the Empire will destroy them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shadow Commander

**Author's Note:**

> Story performed and written on Tumblr, the NaNoWriMo'd, and then modified in 2013-2015. Still a WIP. It is from Bo-Katan's perspective, mainly. In this fanfic, Bo-Katan does not call herself a Kryze, and she is not a part of the House Kryze. She is really not a part of a House, she is a special operative in all that she does. She is a Fem-Mando. She has trudged the same mud as the Mandalorian males. So what happens to Mandalorian women when they get "caught up" -- or pregnant on the battlefield? Do they still fight? Do they get their pregnancies "dealt with"? Where? The Hapes Consoritium? Dathomir? Or are they single mothers fighting to survive with baby en tow? Lucas always said there is no underwear in Star Wars, well there apparently isn't any birth control either...

Bo-Katan sits at her station as her hands race across the holoscreen. On a hunch, she hacks the holofeeds of Coruscant and pinpoints the next move of the Jedi. She grits her teeth to discover that a Jedi bombed the temple and was on trial by the Republic Military courts. That information was old news. She moves the icons across the screen to search for new parameters: intelligence for the Mandalorian Death Watch to fight Darth Maul. She closes her eyes as images sear her mind of Maul decapitating her commander, Pre Viszla to destroy the Death Watch. She was trained to suppress her grief as images of her escape from Maul’s kill order as her fingers fluster along the holoscreen. “Only eight lives survived to pass on the true to the ideals of Mandalorians. No outsider rules Mandalore,” she reminds herself, but reports of his treachery seem to have vanished from her hacked holofeeds. “Maul does not vanish. He’s a lying sack of osik.”

The data flows down then sideways on the holoscreen with blue and orange colors to alert in changes to the hacked feed. She sifts through the information to find the gems of intelligence buried in the mass data stream. Bo-Katan is one of the best hackers of ultra-secure encryption holonetworks. Her former commander, Pre Viszla made sure that her training included analysis of complex 3D holographic structures faster than droid culls. Her memories of his teachings echo in her mind and give her the sole motivation to find Maul and save Mandalore. She had to keep haste to report her conclusions to her superiors to plan for battle. Her hopes lied with her return to the battlefield. An alert beeps her back into focus from the feed chatter, she filters data to finish her work. Hacking the HoloNet never satiates her need to be a warrior and contribute to the Mandalorian cause and culture: Mandalore for Mandalorians. But her orders were the pursuit of the mission based on the feed data. That decision was ordered by her new commander, Lorka Gedyc.

Commander Lorka Gedyc was a tall man and a decade older than Bo-Katan. His chiseled facial features were too handsome and clean for a Mandalorian male. Most Mandalorian men had facial scars and contusions from battle. Lorka was a “pretty” man, well-groomed, no visible scars. His childhood was murky to the Mandalorians, but he knew all the Mandalorian customs and the language. The Mandalorian top brass seemed to accept him as he rose the ranks of Death Watch.

He strides down the corridor as thought sexy by most women and in movements not Mandalorian. Too delicate and prim for the rough, tough ruggedness of Mandalorian men. Lorka Gedyc’s movements were like a Mon Cala Aerial Ballet primadonna. Bo-Katan's mind reverts to the abundant rumors about his training on Prebsfelt IV, a harsh terrain planet for the Republic Judicial Naval Academy. Special operations with advanced weaponry and large capital ships...not Mandalorian. Only core planet citizens train like him. Bo heard he had an alias, Nehaat Ovair, an ancient time name of famed Jedi Masters and Galactic naval family. The Ovairs were distant relatives once removed from the Mandalorian traits that includes commitment to the houses, clans and the children. Somehow, Lorka Gedyc exudes Death Watch and his questionable forefather background matters little with the admixture of Mandalorian, Jedi and some Galactic-wide Judicial military. In any case, Mandalorian top brass gave him a new kind of capital class starship under his command, complete with complements, turbo lasers and missiles. His networks can maneuver through criminal syndicate space and the Republic military. With Pre Viszla’s death, Lorka Gedyc’s ship became the forward command for missions and his campaign he entitled arrogantly, “Mandalorian Enduring Freedom”.

Bo watches him wink and grin at fawning female soldiers until he finds his pleasured gaze her. She tries to ignore his hovering as she is remebers who gave her refuge on his ship after Darth Maul’s coup on Mandalore. She knows that Lorka Gedyc's ship could defeat Darth Maul but could not save her sister, Satine Kryze who was killed in front of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anarchy ensues from Maul's forces and Lorka's expertise could civilize Mandalorians as a show of strength to the galaxy, which emphasizes no outsiders will enter Mandalorian sector space. She could feel his gaze of admiration of her form as she finishes her holoreport. Then, from the corner of her peripheral vision she sees he chit chats to one of the many fawning women that his glowy blue-green eyes mesmerizes them. His eye color is another unique feature about him. One only her House Kryze had that were admixture Mandalorians, except for her.

"He lacks battle-testing like me in the Clone Wars," she mumbles under her breath. Her eye darts from his smug face, and handsome eyes of arrogance, and then her mind speaks volumes. “No preparation, but great battle strategy…in theory…not the same as on the ground.” She watches him flirt with the women, and cajoles the men as best friends. The mind of Bo-Katan reels. “Sycophantic shebse kissers.” Then he turns to her happily as he catches her nasty glare to return to her desk. She immediately she slumps into her cubicle and straightens her posture.

He meanders to her and leans casually as he folds his arms to stare at her for a long time. “Find anything, Lieutenant?” She felt his deep seductive voice made her neck hairs stand then he leans his head next to her briefly that breaks her concentration from her finger movements.

His sexy intonation of his voices startles her. Most Mandalorian male voices are gruff and raspy, something that she loves. But she suspects his well-spoken voice has a tonal pitch with a dark hidden meaning behind it, as her irrational thoughts race. His exhale disarms her finger syncopation to filter the basic parameters and commands, which a slump in her posture she addresses him as her superior. Any more than that, and his comments made her more uncomfortable. “Commander, there are small tidbits of information from a security holocams on Coruscant, but as for the significance? I require more time.” She dares not to look at him. His demeanor was similar to that of a Jedi, but her training yells “dar’je’tii or Siit”.

“Hmm? Well. Play the transmission.”

Bo-Katan rewinds to the start point of the transmission and presses the playback button. One human figure appears in the noise-filled hologram while he speaks to two other unidentifiable figures encased in a ray shield.

 

> _“I’m not crazy! Please just hear what I have to say. I was framed because I know the truth the truth about a plot, a massive deception. There’s a sinister plot in the works against the Jedi. I have proof of it. I can prove that everything that I know is true beyond a shadow of a doubt! The evidence is in here. It’s in here. It’s in all of us, every clone. Organic chips built into our genetic code to make us do whatever someone wants, even kill the Jedi. The Chancellor will try to kill me. He’s in on it! I don’t know to what extent. But I know he orchestrated much of this. He told me in the medical bay!”_
> 
>  

Bo-Katan looks back at Lorka whose finger is under his nose as his eyes pan back and forth as he watches the hologram. He heaves as his deep-voice voice strains. “This one here,” he points to the lone image. “He is a clone trooper of the Jango Fett clones on Kamino.” His eyes squint as his big torso reaches across Bo-Katan’s head while his large index finger touches gently on Bo-Katan’s screen to increase the volume. “Did he say, organic chips to control?”

Bo-Katan more disarmed of the largess of his hands and his slight tinge of some kind of non-Mandalorian cologne that she inhales, by choice. The scent imbalances her thoughts but solidifies her belief that Lorka is not Mandalorian. But the holographic image she saw clearly show an organic mind-control chip and to Mandalorians it was unspeakable. Then it dawns on her, how would Lorka know about the clones? He is not Pre Viszla. She could question Vizsla’s orders and command. The stiff moves by Lorka were icy from an outsider's military training. His professional personality and demeanor felt structured and frozen. Mandalorian men were friendly and personable, even in battle. Her inner mind spoke, Lorka is not that way. His presence felt distant and it unnerves her filled with presumption. Her intuition screams Lorka is untrustworthy. Then, his eyes…those deep blue-green eyes flit across the screen as he moves one icon away to another as if he held a personal conversation, which Bo-Katan could not be privy to. She sees his eyes make calculations for the entire scenario. Her mind drifts to more rumors, he would not socialize and carouse at the bars like most Mandalorians do. Then dread sickens her stomach as her greatest fears of Lorka mount at to who he is, really.

His voice drifts as his recollection returns and his voice spits a sinister hiss. “Jango Fett is a Mandalorian despite what that betraying Prime Minister Almec says that groveling puppet.” The hit of the sneer of his voice about Almec prompts her back into reality and invokes an emotion in Lorka not seen in he. “Manda KARK tatugire demogolka experiments!” He swooshes flimsies from the desk without his touch.

Caught off guard, Bo-Katan presses another button for recorded holographic data playback. “Another transmission from Serenno. Not sure, but it sounds like Count Dooku. The other voice could not be identified, Sir.”

 

 

> _Another cause your doctors found?_
> 
> _A parasite. Native to Ringo Vinda. Probably in the canteen of water they both shared._
> 
> _It did cause the inhibitors to decay, once the parasite had taken hold. It is very rare. However, just to be cautious, we have prepared an inoculation for every clone trooper in our army._
> 
>  
> 
>  

Lorka’s eyes flash a tinge of yellow in a sudden rage as his skin reddens and his voice snarls. “Maul was right about one thing, Dooku is a Sith pretender.”

His change in his deep-voice to a more sinister raspy that causes Bo-Katan to jolt from her seat as flimsies fall to the floor. Lorka eyes widen in fear he had frightened her. Her mind squeaks, of how the messenger is killed and she was it. Mandalorian male rage was normal on the battlefield, but she was on a starship and there was no place to hide. Her voice barely squeaks her malformed words. “Sir, do you think-think… um connection?” She clears her throat. “You know, between the clones and Dooku?”

Lorka face calms as he rubs back his neck quell his sheepish outburst as he can sense the fear of Bo-Katan. “KRIFFIN’ demagolka experiments on Mandalorians.” He puts his hands on his hips and paces, then kicks the wall. He could no longer conceal his rage. “How am I supposed to save Mandalore when they experiment on my own people? Damn demagolka experiments!”

“Who Sir?” Bo-Katan squeaks after a long confusing silence.

“Who else?” He grumbles to find the right word as he spits a litany. “The Jedi? They attacked Mandalore, 700 years before and put this pacifist government which scatters us across the galaxy, and then they let Maul traipse in here to destroy all that we have accomplished? What do you think ‘NAYC ARUETIISE’ means?”

Bo-Katan watches his eyes flash yellow reminiscent of Darth Maul’s yellow-red eyes. Unsure if his question was rhetorical, she returns to the hacked holofeed and watches the clone collapse and mumbles jargon. She replays the conversation frame-by-frame to understand, but to no avail. Then she attempts to refocus the conversation. “They killed the clone, sir. Clones that kill clones?” It was all too confusing to her. “Can clones be Mandalorian? Should we save them, Sir?”

Lorka could feel his palms sweat as if energy rose into them to crush metal with telepathy. Then Bo-Katan speaks, her sweet melodious innocent voice sings to him to find his center. He clears his throat as his rage calms and regains suave self-control. “Yes. We save all clones. They are Mandalorian, but they are…dar’manda…lost from our ways. We need to return them to our people and teach them our ways.” He closes his eyes for a moment and reopens them to speak in his deep-sweet-toned voice. “We offer them sanctuary and help them overcome their battles. Do you think you can start that process for me, Lieutenant?”

His surprise answer catches Bo-Katan off-guard as she gazes deep into his blue-green eyes. His eyes, they calm her and compel her follow his orders. She feels glee to send her back into the battlefield. “Yes, Commander. I’ll get right on it.”

He flashes his bright smile and places his hand on her shoulder, gently as he rubs around it. “I know you can. I am counting on you. You’re my little Fem-Mando girl, aren’t you, Lieutenant?” He rises, then straightens his uniform, rolls his shoulders back to stiff stance and confidently strides to the next cubicle to flirt.

Bo-Katan’s stomach winces when she feels his huge hand on her shoulder and then hears his reductive comment. The stench of his words tings through her ears as her brain vomits from the ignorance of his comment. She can only manage to think the Mandalorian word like “di’kutla”. Her former commander, Pre Vizsla never spoke to her like that. She battled Maul, she fought traitors on Mandalore, and with the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and she organized an underground movement. The only reason why she came to Lorka was for his starship. Her mind screams harassment because of her gender. But it is not the first time she has heard of Mandalorians male diminutions. Many female Mandalorians, Fem-Mandos as they are called, would endure it. The unwelcome gropes and condescension. It is the norm for Fem-Mandos. Her hands shake in shock that the Mandalorian Death Watch leader Lorka Gedyc would rip professional abilities from her and she was compelled to welcome it. Her eyes water from the range of emotions wracking her nerves. She manages to press the final few buttons on the computer to organize her reports, which optimized the new mission plan to save the clones. A timed alarm alerts her to another call she had to make. She fixes her hair headband and activates a channel. An old friend and comarade-at-arms, a former medic and now physician. A Fem-Mando filled with strength and hears her sweet professional voice out of her doldrums from Lorka’s microaggression. “Su’cuy Dr. Vidya. How’s Kaliinda Shoals Medical Spacestation? I’ve got a new mission for you.”


	2. Jate Verda Shemaki Ke'gyce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new character created, Dr. Vidya Wren. Just feel strongly that a woman, a Fem-Mando carries the last name of her children. The father. Surprising, isn't it?
> 
> bit.ly/Mando77

Commander Wolffe stands on the deck of his shiny Gonzati Cruiser to watch his command. The Corellian Engineering Corporation built the ship under Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and the military leader, Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin. The Jedi do not know of the existence of this starship cruiser. Too many questions they would ask. Wolffe could tell that the Jedi were war-weary with their slowness to the battlefields, but he was genetically programmed for endless war. His clone brothers of the 104th Battalion also known as the “Wolfpack” mill about the ship on its maiden voyage to Kamino from a secret Corellian shipyard on an unknown planet. The Wolfpack mill about to repair their battletorn armor caused by the Separatists battledroid blaster fire. Their squad specializes in difficult extractions of important individuals, but since the latest incident with their 501st Battlion brother, CT-5385 also known as Tup, all clones were ordered back to Kamino for an inoculation against a new fungus. Republic military felt it best to have the remaining clones test new starships on their trip to Kamino.

The Wolfpack jokes as they prepare for another mission. Sergeant Sinker cajoles Wolffe about his cybernetic eye optic. “Hey Commander, see any unusual colors today? Oh wait, you can’t.” The squad chortle like large group of twins with their own language.

Wolffe shakes his head to go along with their jokes, he scratches the skin around the eye cybernetic. It twitches to where his eye tears, and the medical droids can never alleviate the pain. Their incompetence in the battlefield causes him curse under his breath but his complaints remain unheard. He rubs his eyes and wipes his tears with his gloved hands as he tastes the salty tear in his mouth. While he knows the jokes continue, his eyesight blurs as a huge migraine pierces his brain like a durasteel rebar impales him. He shakes his head to relieve the migraine and stumbles as it causes him to become dizzy. He hyperventilates to catch his breath and regain his balance, when a strange mantra causes him to recite it multiply. “Good soldiers follow orders.” He repeats the comment.

Trooper Boost races to the commander and presses upon his shoulder. “Commander, are you well?”

The cybernetic eye focuses on the trooper and in a trance he utters a mantra. “Good soldiers follow orders.” Wolffe squeezes both eyes as memories sear through his mind of the screams of his fallen comrades, men in Mandalorian armor. They approach him in cadet gear to pick him up from a battle field and retrain him.

A man removes his Mandalorian helmet, as his gray hair drops and his wrinkled whiskered face with bloodstains smiles back to him. He chuckles in the midst of a battle on a foggy wetland. The man speaks to him. “Jate verda shekemi ke’geyc, Jang’ika.” Then the man fires his blaster at an unseen army to rejoin battle.

Wolffe stumbles back into consciousness and stares at his men who surround him. Dumbfounded he finds their confusion to his amusement. “Me’ven?” He shakes his head to regain clarity. “What? You think I can’t take a nuhun – err - joke?”

The Wolfpack turn to each other in confusion as the Sinker speaks for all of them. “Sir, perhaps you should review this priority comm sent by Captain Rex of the 501st Battalion.”

Wolffe removes the comm and reads the message in horror about CT-5555 another clone trooper. “Fives is dead? He visited Kamino and now he is dead.”

The squad gasps and stares at one another unsure what to say, until Sinker speaks. “Commander, if this is true, do we still have to return to Kamino?”

Wolffe places his fingers on his temples to stop the severity of the migraine. “Good verda shekemi orders.” He looks up to his squad as they tilt their heads in confusion. He sighs in frustration. “I mean, good soldiers follow orders. But sometimes, we belay those orders for our self-preservation.” He straightens himself like the officer he should be. “I am the al’vende…I mean the commander and I take responsibility for the mission, you follow my orders as given to me from military command.” He mumbles the next comment. “Which are not the Jedi or these new academy military leaders, our new leader is…” His face twists to follow his logic. “The Mandalore?”

“Commander?” Sinker says with his astonishment of comments made by his leader. He pulls Wolffe aside and presses upon his soldier. “Sir, I hope you’re not suggesting…you can be executed for desertion if you’re caught.”

“I know, Sergeant. But this inoculation…something’s not right. I know you feel it too. Perhaps it is my eye optic, but maybe it is not. When Fives and Tup returned to Kamino, they died.” He shook his head to stave of the pain. “I am not fighting this war only to be decommissioned like a ship.” His voice quavers loudly.

Sinker studies the facial patterns on face of Wolffe. He sees the men in their own discussions. He has seen strange things and never complained. No clone complains as it is not in their ‘programming’. He recalls the visuals from the holograms from a recent battle the 501st and 212th battalions on Umbara and how the clones were led to believe they fought an enemy when the entire battle was fabricated by the Jedi General Pong Krell. He crosses his arms to keep the attention of his commander and the squad. “Sir, we’ve been across this galaxy from one side to the next and we’ve seen a lot of strange things, including the Jedi and their Force, but none of them prepares us for our…usefulness after the war. None of our training prepares us for you speaking Mando’a fluently, like you did just now.” He stated pointedly. “Something is going on and the answer is not on Kamino.”

The squad nods in agreement and surrounds their brothers when Sinker speaks. “Let’s get that eye fixed first by outside assistance, and then continue our mission to take this scrap heap of a ship to where it needs to be.”

Wolffe feels the camaraderie of his brotherhood rally to him. He felt like the older brother giving orders and them listening. But, now they order him. “If I go along with this, and we get caught, I will claim _mutiny_.”

Sinker grins holding his arm. “Of course, and we’ll place you in the stockade to tell the Jedi that you’ve gone mad.” He waves his hands near his head. “But I tell you one thing, ‘ner’vod’ you aren’t the only clone here that knows Mando’a fluently,” He winks. “I just hide what I know better than you in ner’nuhune.”

“Wait, how…do you speak it fluently? Do you understand it? How long?”

“Communication is my name and transmission is my game, Commander. Let’s say I’ve been reading a lot of Mandalorian holocom feeds lately and I intercepted one of their signals.”

Wolffe grabs his forearm. “Have you talked to them?”

Boosts and the squad enter the conversation and in unison. “Nayc. Al’vende. We have not.” They all nod, oddly the same like twins.

“Wait!  You knew of this, Mandalorian stuff, and did not tell me?”

“Well commander, we thought you really were a…sheb’urycin for Jedi Plo Koon. And while I like the guy, he is still a Je’tii.” Sinker grins. “I mean, from what I understand, Mandalorians are not fans of the Je’tii.” Then his tone turns serious. “I’ve been studying them a lot and was thinking when the war is over, I would…”

 

Then a different squad, ones that were green enter their area. They walked in like battledroids, precise, shiny and new. The Wolfpack goes back to straightening up as they enter. They ignore the Wolfpack completely.

Wolffe as the senior officer gets the salutes as he whispers to Boost. “They don’t make clones like they use to.” He studies the new clones as they busy themselves with their simple white armor and new helmets wide eyes, small nose. “Soldier, you have the new Stormtrooper ‘gam – err – armor?”

“Sir, yes sir!” Their voices sound in a higher pitch than the older clones.

“Let me see that helmet!” Wolffe barked an order to Sinker to show the chain of command.

Sinker smiled as he grabbed the helmet, tossing it around in his hands. The white shininess of the plastoid seems flimsy for a helmet. He tosses the lightweight bucket to Wolffe. “Looks nice, Commander, for a stroll on Zeltron!” The rest of the squad laughed.

Wolffe examines the new stormtrooper helmet in dismay. It was not customizable as it was for the one-size-fits-all army for new recruits. Clones tend to modify their armor for battle as needed. It was for camaraderie. But this new helmet felt manufactured and flimsy. He walks to each stormtrooper and picks at the pieces of body armor as his ticks off his disgust. This new Republic cheapens the hard work of the clones. The new clones lack needed survival knowledge and by the time they discover it, they would be dead. Wolffe was compelled to save their lives. “All of you, remove your helmets and let my squad assist you in armor reinforcements.”

As each removes their helmets, one stormtrooper was a woman, obviously not a clone. The Wolfpack taken aback that a woman was permitted in an all-male facility. Sinker whispers. “Commander, she would be from uh…Kiffar. Look at her arm and facial tattoos.” He edges closer. “See I pay close attention to detail. That is…Mando’ad.”

Wolffe unconcerned about a female warrior as he is more concerned about their training or lack thereof. “I guess not all of you grew in SPAARTI tanks.” His snide remarks echo to the woman. “You must be these Raithal recruits and we are here to train you and once we train you, you become our bosses. What are your orders?”

“To follow your command, sir!” They sang together.

Then one of the recruits ventured to speak. “Sir, we were ordered to never modify our armor. The military provides all our needs as issued. Sir.”

Sinker reaches toward the collar of the new recruit. “Ain’t none of that gonna help you when the clankers are on your behind. Your orders come from Commander Wolffe now!”

“Now, now Sergeant,” Wolffe jaw twitches from the naïve comment made by the stormtrooper.  Wolffe muses to himself seeing they will die without the clones to train them. He paces as he can pinpoint each weak spot that could kill them. The time that it would take to train them beyond their lackluster basic training would ruin them in the battlefield. The more he ruminated on the weakness of the stormtroopers, the more he desired to kill them out of pity. Then the Republic military would be after him. He paces more as his men did not want to go to Kamino to be mind-wiped or euthanized.

Then the thought appears in his mind. Sinker can locate the origin the Mandalorian transmission and they could go there. He pulls the sergeant aside in low tones. “Sinker, you have the origin of the Mandalorian transmission?”

Sinker confirms that the new recruits stare ahead. He nods to his other squad mates for this mission as he presses a sequence of buttons on his wrist gauntlet and a hologram of the transmission origin. “There. Kaliinda Shoals Medical.”

Wolffe’s eye cybernetic rotates in surprise. “Are you serious? That’s a Republic base.”

Sinker smarts. “Not anymore.”

“We intercepted a beacon a long time ago. A secret transmission from Kamino to Coruscant. After Mandalore fell, the Mandalorian Death Watch took over the place,” Boost adds to the conversation.

Wolffe brows rise. “None of this was reported through the proper channels?”

“Of course not. You think the Mandalorian Death Watch would follow proper channels especially after what happened on Mandalore with that crime lord, Maul.” Sinker quips.

Wolffe glares at Sinker and Boost. “Vode, this makes no sense. Why would the Death Watch want a spacestation?”

Boost counters. “Who wouldn’t want an unused state-of-the-art medical satellite from the Republic?”

Sinker chimes. “We’ll tell these di’kut stormtroopers we’re liberating this facility from the Separatists.” Then he lowers his voice while he presses Wolffe. “If they die, we blame it on the Separatists. Al’vende sibu mayen.”

Wolffe closes his eyes as his squad wants to frag these new recruits, but it was not the right thing to do. The Jedi taught them to be helpful. Master Plo Koon had always given into their own creative independent thoughts, never to hurt people. His cybernetic eye focuses on the stormtrooper squad as he stages each tactic in his mind when another searing migraine racks his brain and blood trickles from his eye implant socket. He stumbles as he wipes off the blood and glares at his squad and the recruits. He pushes their arms away. “I’m fine. Just a little…” He stares at Sinker. “Good soldiers follow orders.” He picks up his blaster and moves around to aim it.

Wolffe surprises Sinker and his men. “No-no. You don’t mean that. Brother. I follow orders. You know me. I’m the sergeant and you’re the commander.” He finds Boost ready to pounce Wolffe

Wolffe icy in his stance recites it again. “Good soldiers follow orders.” Then he winks at Sinker and Boost and turns his head as he commands his battalion. “Squad! We have been ordered to transport this new cruiser from our secret location near Corellia to a flight to Naboo. I want a clean maiden voyage to make it a bright star for the Grand Army of the Republic.”

The dutiful clones and the new recruits comply. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Wolffe pranks Sinker and Boost as his eye wrinkles and his face smiles, slowly. “Always give the appearance you know exactly what you are doing. Besides, the new recruits need to be afraid of me and not see me as a clone pushover. They need to know I’ll kill them as we were trained to do.”

Sinker expels his breath. “Commander, you have one helluva a way of showing it.”

Boost replies. “You can say that again.” Pauses. “Commander, do you really believe what happened to Fives and Tup. Can we be re-programmed?”

Wolffe shakes his head confounded. “Boost, let me know when you find out. But my eye cybernetic is malfunctioning. Whatever is at this medical center, they need to correct that first or I wear an eye patch to join some pirate gang.”

 

***

 

Dr. Vidya walks the corridors through Kaliinda Shoals Medical Center. The white walls felt clean and sterile. A healthy environment. The Kaminoans were intricate with their medical techniques, but bad with their electronics and engineering. Entire floors of the facility were evacuated into space vacuum and rebuilt with spacesuits due to unstable structures. The renovations were ongoing. At the moment, the facility was in its own orbit under its own revolution absorbing energy from a distant sun. The power was partly generated from a comet crystal that follows its own orbital pattern, which was small enough to charge the batteries for a hundred years.

Vidya reviews her holopad to check the redundant systems on the ship. It was her morning ritual. It gave her balance. She grins at her accomplishment for checking each of the onboard systems on schedule. Her mind recites that the foliage environment generates enough oxygen for the beings on the station, which was at a low number for the moment. But as the number of beings increase, the plants would have to be genetically modified to increase oxygen output and decrease carbon emissions. It was all clinical to her. A Mandalorian Death Watch doctor. A Fem-Mando battlefield tested medic. But to keep her wits about her, she ticks off her to do list. Her next task was to examine the beast that consumes solid and organic waste, and converts the waste to energy and topsoil for the foliage. The station was a well-equilibrated system for life support through her efforts. Suddenly, she stops walking and sighs. “But the toxic and radioactive chemical waste are a problem that the Mandalorian Death Watch hierarchy thinks we can dump it near a sun. It’s too dangerous; the electromagnetic fields could cause a warped orbital signature and cause the station to crash into a sun. There must be a safe-biological solution.” She places her hand on her head as she sorts what she can do about the radioactive waste.  It is expensive and not feasible, she would have to make-do with the hierarchy’s current plan, and hope the station does not crash and burn into a gravity well.

           Kaliinda Shoals Medical Station has removable sections to keep a quarantine environment and evacuate pathogens by space vacuum. The current check protocols were in place to remove all dangerous biologicals from any intruder. The station was the consummate standalone research biomedical facility and Vidya was excited to be a part of it as its head physician-director. Her heart flutters as she thinks of the new Mandalorian patients that would enter the facility. It was their biometry she desired. It was good biome data that could be used to dedicate Mandalorian fighters that protect the galaxy besides Jedi. The Jedi were corrupt with their Force. Mandalorians have a long history watching Jedi, or rather Force Users, especially the destructive ones, like Revan, Count Dooku, and Maul. Dr. Vidya’s new orders where to find a biological mechanism to defeat Force Users.

The Kaminoans and a few other scientists questioned the logic of removing the Jedi. Is that rational? What of Force use? Vidya researched all the protocols at top libraries across the galaxy, especially on Alderaan, to learn that most Mandalorians are not Force users. The literature states that only Jedi study the essence of the Force. There was one dissenting report from Muunilinst that says some Muun named Hego Damask on the moon, Sojourn studied Force use, but all that data has been debunked since his mysterious death on Coruscant.

Vidya confident in her background research believes that biomedical research can be good for the Mandalorians to control. But Mandalorians have an inherent hate of science and experiments. In its history, Mandalorians were the research lab rats for all scientific discoveries in the galaxy. These unethical experiments include the Kaminoan clones of Jango Fett. These experiments frustrate Vidya. Never would a clone be just fodder to die in an enemy’s war. But that is what the Republic and Jedi were doing in the Clone Wars. The very thought disgusts Vidya to where she drops her datapad. _Death Watch was created to stop enemies from using Mandalorians as test subjects._  She thought. But when Mandalore fell to Maul, Vidya remained true to the causes of Death Watch and she had to find new ways to beat any Force User at his or her game.

           She enters her junk filled office of laboratory holopads and scrolls, when a priority Death Watch holocom alert rings repeatedly. She stumbles over her mess to answer it. It was Bo-Katan who looks harried. “Su’cuy Lieutenant Bo-Katan, what a nice surprise. I have not seen you since I was a medic on Korda VI. How are you?”

           Bo-Katan leans into the holocam amazed she caught her friend. “Vidya, I’m fine. I’m in a rush to another meeting. I am sending you encrypted data that we just received on Coruscant. I cannot talk long because I do not want this transmission traced. But what I can say is _no more demagolka experiments_.” Bo-Katan presses a few buttons and sends the documents to her as the comm dissipates.

           Her call was abrupt but judging by the seriousness of her tone, Vidya waits for the documents to download for her review. Her first calm moment as she stares into the expanse of space from her large office window, then she turns to sees the busyness of Mandalorians doing their own scientific research and discovery. A light chime alarms her of the completed download as the screen blinks in succession to verify the encrypted files, she stumbles over books and flimsies to shut the door and close the windows. She saves the files to her private holopad. A bright gold seal of the Mandalorian Death Watch hawk-bat appears to show the serious nature of the information. She clicks the advance button, when she sees a man that pleads to a to two other men behind a ray shield.

           As the story unfolds on the holofile, environmental and computer metrics scrolls indicating key biological parameters. Voice sound inflections limits, ambient temperature and humidity, and any pollutants. There are longitudes and latitudes with magnetic forces in the area in the area to indicate if there are large starships with gravity wells. There were also occupant temperature maps and occasional blood pressure rates with their heartbeats. Vidya grimaces whiles she views all this information. The pheromone levels were different by ionized echo-refractive indices, which indicate that there occupants in the room were not completely natural born human, a trick the Mandalorians use in their heads up display helmets. Then, droids cannot assess neurolinguistics behavior from all the subjects in the hologram. This fact perplexes Vidya, because at the beginning of the hologram, the body language was 70% jitter disjointed, somewhat like an awkward baby eopie found on Tatooine. When babies first stand, they jitter. They require the life-experience of their parents to teach them as models usually through culture. Then it dawns on Vidya who these men were. “They’re…tatugire…clones…their movements are so awkward and they are sick!” Vidya speaks to her holorecorder. “Their gait is indicative of a brain abnormality in the front hemisphere.” She presses the search button for her holocomputer. “Find all documented cases of clone technology neurological destabilization.” Her holocomputer signals with a beep to start the search.

           She listens to the Supreme Chancellor speak of the planet Ringo Vinda and a parasite. The Supreme Chancellor’s announcement enrages Vidya as she slams her hands on the desk. “BANTHA OSIK! There is no KRIFFIN parasite on Ringo Vinda! I already did the planetary evaluation. And that is why Mandalore stayed neutral. I can’t believe that osik.” She stands and walks back and forth as she rants aloud when few of her colleagues approach the door and leave. She plops into her chair. “And the di’kutla Je’tii bought that demagolka? Figures…Mir’osike.”

She places her hand underneath her nose to process what she just heard. She stares into the expanse of space to wonder about her people and what would become of them as her patience wears thin when the magnitude of what she saw hits her. She has been on the battlefield for Mandalore as a medic in field medicine and her normal job would be to patch up the warriors with cybernetics, and then race to the next warrior. She reminisces how Bo-Katan and her met as cadets. Bo-Katan was funny and they got into a lot of trouble with command. They trudged the same mud. Bo-Katan would be on the front fighting and Vidya would be in the back healing. She chuckles softly when she recalls how Bo-Katan never got hurt. She is a very good warrior and a very good leader. She opens an old holoimage of Bo-Katan. They were only 16 years old and then both of them threw thermal detonators that blew colors that Vidya concocted as there were colorful explosions in the background. She chuckles. “Bo, you and me, what do we have ourselves involved in now, sister?”

Vidya replays the holocomm again, as she reviews the metrics. Another alarm chimes to indicate the data search is complete. She evaluates the information and flusters about in her chair as what she read makes her angry. “DEMAGOLKA EXPERIMENTS! On clones of a Mandalorian. Of course, Jang’ika aliit Fett did not know.” She rises and presses a few buttons on her comlink. “Review the Jango Fett genomic database. File JF11171978.” The chime opens an entire file of Jango Fett. The Mandalorians maintained their own data files of the clones that streams from Kamino, it was the last hack that Jango Fett made before he died. Jango Fett was smart enough to place tracking codes into the data set only accessible to high ranking Mandalorian members, such as Lorka Gedyc. But Vidya used special backdoor codes that Bo-Katan entrusted to her in regards to the spacestation work. She reviews the data, then requests a filter algorthim. “Interrogate all the known neurological markers for the best suggestive location in the frontal cerebral cortex.” The sensors acknowledged and scanned his brain with the optimal location for an implant. “Jate. Good. Now for a clone. No chance of finding one?” The sensors twerp unable to comply.

Vidya studies the space outside of her window and crosses her arms. “The Republic built this army to work for the Je’tii, and then builds back-up control implants built by the Kaminoans to control the clones? That makes absolutely no sense.” She rocks her chair. “The minds of the clones are unstable. The Kaminoans would have to neurologically stabilize them. They would use implants, but Mandalorians are resistant to that behavioral modification, unless...” She laughs. “That’s funny. To subdue Mandalorians. Good luck with that.” Then all her knowledge of facts surge through her mind. “Are the clones psychotic? Yet?”

She realizes many are going psychotic as measured by the bioinformatics data on the holocom. “Mandalorians are not psychotic…well…not raging lunatics, yet.” Her brow rises as she smirks because she has met some questionable Mandalorians. But it is their warrior codes and beliefs keep them at bay. They were taught the importance of the hunt to survive, not only soldiers for a war or the acquisition of wealth as a life goal. “The clones have no Mandalorian culture. That would leave them very unstable and cause the Jedi and the Republic to exterminate the clones.” She stops her pace. “The Jedi and the Republic are going to EXTERMINATE THE MANDALORIANS!” She shuts her eyes from all the lessons learned about how many Force users exterminate Mandalorians: Darth Revan at Malachor V. Antos Wyrick, also known as Demagolka, and Count Dooku on Galidraan. She wipes worried sweat from her face as she remembers these dark times she whispers a recitation of a childhood song.

 _“Demagolka never again._  
We will fight until the end.   
That is what Mandalorian Death Watch stands.” 

She folds her arms as she watches Mandalorian Death Watch staff all striving to keep the medial base open. “Is it too late for us to save the clones?”

***

 

The comlink alerts Vidya and all officers about a ship on approach to the spacestation. “What is this?” She exits her office and follows her support staff to the command post.

“A ship. Identifying as we speak. Humans and droids are onboard. The communications wavelengths and channels appear to be set to Republic codes.” Ensign Ruusan speaks.

“Put them on quarantine, immediately and I needed that assessment five seconds ago. I am prepared to blast them into space if they fail to comply.”

Ruusan acknowledges.

Vidya surveys the holographic parameters of the ship. “Strange markings.”

“Dr. Vidya, it appears that the hyperdrive system is from CEC Gonzati prototype. A new class of starship cruiser. Faster than a Venator class ship.” Ensign Bes’bol replies.

“Vor’e. Hail them,” Vidya replies as the ensign activates the channel. “This is a private installation, what is your business here, Republic Cruiser?”

A huge hologram of Commander Wolffe appears. “I am Commander Wolffe of the Grand Army of the Republic and we are in emergency need of medical relief.” Sinker carries a squad member across in a sickly fashion. “We kindly request compassionate care and rations to make our journey to Christophosis Shipyards.”

Vidya looks at his vocal patterns and waits for the data from the staff members as she speaks to them in mute. “That’s osik. None of them are sick. That durasteel is paper thin as are those voice signatures.”

Ensign Ruusan replies. “Dr. Vidya, they are running low on rations. But a ship like that is amazing as it makes it through hyperspace faster without complete fragmentation.”

Vidya nods and activates a voice channel. “What happened to your baaur’beskar’ade…err…medical droids?” She observes the facial twitches of the commander.

“Ma’am, uh…they are…” Looks behind him and waves off his men to stop their ruse. “I need to see this…woman.” The clones fix a camera on her. He sees an irate medical professional he had never seen before. Not a senator or a leader, but a woman who is a warrior with Mandalorian sigils and she is beautiful. He stutters to find the right words. “Ohh…uh…Doctor…Ma’am.”

“Commander Wolffe is it? Part of the 104th Battalion of the Grand Army of the Republic. I know you’re lying and that is reason enough to blast your ship into space.” Vidya crosses her arms in irritation.

Sinker chimes in the discussion. “Look vod, we got your beacon to this place and you can’t treat us like that.”

Vidya and the Death Watch crew look at one another from the arrogance of a clone. “Pak’latat tatugire. Aliit ori'shya tal'din…” Her face does not flinch and all her staff smirk attempting to suppress their amusement of “Silver-tongued clones. Family is more than blood.”

Sinker and Boost slump sheepish before Wolffe. “Commander, I don’t speak that much Mando’a.”

Wolff annoyed with their showcase antics turns to the hologram of the woman in the facility. “Uh…Ma’am…We need help. I need help. Please assist us. I cannot offer much, but as Clone commander, but I can promise myself to be of service to you.”

Vidya eyes narrow at the clones’ politeness. She wonders if that is a part of their Kaminoan programing to force them to be docile. “Dar’manda,” She grits her teeth as she hears soft chuckles from her crew. She knew the clones knew nothing about their pain from a Mandalorian perspective. Mandalorian compassion would be to put them out of their misery and blast them into space. Yet, the Mandalorian warriors codes state to raise your children to be Mandalorian and they are lost children. Vidya could see that much in them.

A channel alerts on Ensign Bes’bol console. “Bioanalysis of the ship complete, Dr. Vidya. No biological contaminants on board. There is no risk to the station.”

Ensign Ruusan stands beside Dr. Vidya and remarks. “I’d love to have a look at that lightweight hyperdrive engine.”

Officer Evaar’la rises in support. “That is a good idea, we can reverse engineer their ship with those weapons. Look at those plasma turbo canons, I’ve only heard rumors about those on Ord Mantell.”

Vidya tilts her head as she hears her crew’s pleas and those from the clones. She uncrosses her arms and opens comlink channel. “Commander Wolffe and crew, Olarom Mando’ade adol Kyr’tsad Kaliinda Shoals Medical Spacestation.” Her crew released the shield barriers and tractor beams.

Wolffe turns to his men with a slight grin. His diplomatic skills have improved as he has learned from his teacher, Jedi General Plo Koon. The mission to the planet Aleena taught him the importance of good communication in other languages. He could only speak Galactic Basic Standard, which is frustrating, but when the war was over, he was going to see to it, that he learns as many languages as his brain can hold and teach them to his recruits. That was his goal, once his eye cybernetic was fixed. But as for that doctor, Vidya and when she spoke to him in fluent Mando’a, a memory of walking through a burning battlefield returned with him walking along with the other man in Mandalorian armor. He pats him on the back in laughter. “Jang’ika… Jate verda shekemi ke’gyce.” He sees the memory clearly, but it was not his own.

Wolffe frowns as those words replay in his mind. “But I’m breaking the rules to do my duty to help others, like Fives said.”

Sinker laughs at him as they pat him on the back. “A good ambassador are you not, Commander?”

Boost smiles at both of them. “I’ve never seen women look like that. Ori’mesh’la. Have you, Commander?”

Wolffe snaps at them. “We’re here for medical services and whatever they find out, hopefully they’ll help us than kill us.”

Sinker and Boost mouths drop from their confusion. After a brief silence, Sinker broaches a subject that Clones never discuss, sexual attraction to others. It has happened to a few clones, and some died because of their attraction. “It’s okay Commander. If you go Cut Lawquanne on us, no clone will think the less of you. I’ll make sure of that.”

Boost follows the conversation and chimes. “That doctor is very beautiful, Commander. If you don’t, I will.”

Sinker pushes Boost in a riff. “You don’t even take a bath Boost. You would have to be in decon for years before you can even get a taste of anything that level. No Mandalorian warrior woman would think of speaking to you. You can’t measure up. I can’t measure up. None of us can, she is way out of our leagues.  She is pure Mandalorian…” Sinker smiles. “Born and raise under the Mandalorian warrior codes. Trained to fight since birth. Fought in battlefields like us without genetic programming. All natural. No other woman compares to a Manda’dala verda. Got hard in my armor just thinking about it.”

Wolffe rises and glares because he can see war has changed his men from their duty from the Republic. It disturbs him that war has done this. The Cut Lawquanne comment stung him. Cut, a clone deserter and had a family. But perhaps he fell into being a man that has programmed to not have physical desires. Wolffe denied his desires, but since the loss of his eye, his wants and desires for a life besides war increased. He knows he wants more, but clones are meant to die. Whatever he wants, he has to get himself. But for now,  he wants the migraines to stop and not Kamino after Tup and Fives died under their care. That inoculation the Supreme Chancellor said conflicts with their orders taught to them. Other means have to be sought and a beacon from the Mandalorian Death Watch was his chance to get help or relief. He asserts his command of the situation though it feels as if his head is to pound outside of his head. “Sergeant, prepare the troops for exit, that’s an order.” He walked to his area and prepared himself in his Grand Army of the Republic regalia.

Sinker salutes and then barks orders to the others. “C’mon now. We do not know how long we have here. Let’s move.” The nervous stormtrooper recruits tiptoe close to the Wolfpack in fear of the Mandalorians. “It is another fine day in the Grand Army of the Republic.” Pushes the new recruits out the door as they serve as shields in front of them.

Boost steps and watches the sight. Mandalorian warriors on the platform and in the air with jetpacks, all ready as if some invasion were to take place. Overcome with emotion he removes his helmet and mumbles. “If I die today, it will be a great death for me as a clone.”

 

***

 

The medics kept streaming new information to Vidya’s datapad as studies of the each of the clones came to completion. There were numerous genetic anomalies that the Kaminoans failed to correct or neglected. The cloning protocols were messy such as the disintegrating telomeric DNA units that mean the clones age 10 times faster than natural humans. They die not because of old age, but because of simultaneous organ failure in a time-programmed manner. As if the clone’s lifeclocks were under the control of Kaminoan. Of course that data was not in the Mandalorian data drives. It was unknown how it was hidden, but a few RNA transcripts suggest that the clones were partial transgenics with the warrior species called Yinchorri. The Kaminoans found that the clones were difficult to control, they implanted. DNA chips in their brains. Except, they forgot or did not care about the resiliency of Mandalorians. It seems the implants were failing along with the lifeclock timed programs. As if by an order, the clones were to serve their purpose, and then die, simultaneously.

Vidya knew with these data that she could no longer allow the Demogolka experiment to go to completion. Mandalorians are not genocidal beings. They will fight a war, but murdering everyone in that war, like women and children, is not honorable. The clones may be lost from Mandalorians, but how much have they forgotten their heritage? In reports, they kept saying they replied to a beacon put out by the Mandalorian Death Watch. But the language of the beacon was in the Mandalorian language. In order for anyone to understand it, one would have to speak Mandalorian fluently or have translator protocol droid. And these clones were able to partially decode the message. Vidya needed to make a report to Bo-Katan about these data, but after she speaks to Commander Wolffe.

The Mandalorian Death Watch put the clones into decontamination and quarantine as a precaution. The clones were told it was standard operating procedure. They followed their orders without question. The Mandalorians thought their politeness was dar’manda – someone who lost their heritage. But then they discovered the new armor some of them had called Stormtrooper armor. The glare of the Death Watch took it and used the armor for target practice. The other clones had custom armor. The Death Watch noticed how the armor was kept. Uniquely Mandalorian, but not crisp like the clans. But as if the clones were trying to emulate them or flatter them in the most sincere way. The Death Watch returned the armor to each member of the 104th Wolfpack Battalion.

Commander Wolffe stares out into the expanse of the star in his scrubs that had a diamond shape called the Mandalorian iron heart it. Neatly placed his armor in a corner, he had a room to himself as the commander. The Mandalorian nurses and assistants spoke little to him but seemed nice as they poked and prodded him for fluid samples. They assured him that there will be discomfort and pain, and while there was, it did not make him flinch. Then the Mandalorians checked his eye cybernetic, which impressed them by the advance nature of it. As they questioned him about what he sees and tests his vision for shapes and colors. The implant required minor modifications and when they were done, he felt fine for a moment. Then searing images of a battlefield flood his mind. His eyes widen as if he sees soldiers who drag him across a field.

They speak Mando’a as he screams, then as he blinks his eyes he sees the Mandalorian personnel holding him down on the hospital bed, to comlink to Dr. Vidya.

She blasts into his room to see the ruckus, and checks his eyes to notice any imbalance. Large droids hold him down, as she looks for more scanning instruments, that when she sees how orderly he kept his armor. “Let him go. Let him stand. He just needs some air and space to breathe. I’ll be fine. Leave us.” She trusted him to not kill her. But in case he was raging she was prepared with knockout gas detonators in her lab coat pockets. When he stood, he was stately and taller than her. His demeanor, regal, not Mandalorian, but an air of core planet military academy training. Some called Imperial. But he still had the ruggedness of a Mandalorian man in his natural eye. It was like she was on Mandalore at one of the cantinas right before a bar fight. After a long silent meditation she broke the silence. “I have your results, Commander.”

He comes out of his trance that minimizes his eye pain as he turns to see a beautiful professional Mandalorian woman enter his domain. He grins slightly to be fortunately to see this vision.  “Dr. Vidya here to deliver the great news?”

Vidya was a bit put off by him. She knew pleasantries, but men were never civil to her unless they wanted something. They are usually abrasive and mean when injections or pills are involved. But this man was compliant to whatever she asked of him. He trusts her fully. It was an odd thought for her that she wonders aloud. “What if your trust was betrayed?”

Wolffe follows her eyes and cannot take his eyes of the softness of her face. “Then I would have to find another way for you to trust me.”

“Me’ven? Huh? What?” Vidya shakes her head as he confuses her. “I have your test results and you should sit down for this. Let me examine your cybernetic eye again.” She sat into her doctor’s examination chair to wait for him.

Wolffe complies and sits on the examination table straightening his back as she stands and examines his eyes. “I can see just fine, Dr. Vidya. But I still have these migraines and compulsions. I know it is not right for me as a clone to complain, but I can’t do my duty to my fullest ability if I am sick, right?”

Vidya does not hear him while she runs the droid over his cybernetic eye. The implant did not have any bugs in its code that can be used for espionage without his complicit knowledge. She looks at her datapad and studies the neural scans that he interprets what we sees accurately. However, there were spurious sparks in his frontal cortex of his brain. It emanates from an extra chip implant the Mandalorians discovered. Its function on its tests seems to change clone docility. From the intelligence that Bo-Katan sent to her, it suggests that the Kaminoans added the chip specifically to make the clones to take orders from inept leadership, such as from the Jedi and these new leaders called, Imperials. Vidya had to prove its existence by a series of motor coordination experiments that tests his reflex time but also tests his behavior. The end result requires a discussion with a clone that has a maturity of a young teenager, but is in a man’s body. “Elek, you are finding ways to work around the migraines?”

“Uh. Yes ma’am. I have been using a Jedi healing technique taught to me by my General, Plo Koon. And – “

She interrupts him. “How are your nightmares, Wolffe? My nurses tell me you scream out at night as well as half your squad. When we have given sedatives, you keep screaming…” The clones spoke Mando’a often left her assistants confused as to what they do. “You and your men say, ‘Good soldiers follow orders’ however, you say it in Mando’a - _Jate verda shemeki ke’gyce_.”

Wolffe blushes with embarrassment for his men and himself. Clones do not complain. They are manufactured to solve problems in battle and not flinch. They were bred to fight and die in wars started by other people and not question its morality. He knows he had nightmares, and sometimes he hears his men have nightmares. But the nightmares were about recent events. A good soldier follows orders was an indoctrination comment of mentioned in Galactic Basic Standard. He and his men recite the comment in Mandalorian which suggests that the comment is from the original Jango Fett’s memory engram. In his nakedness, he crosses his arms and flexes his muscles. “Ma’am, I don’t know what to say. It has been happening to a lot of us, except the new recruits.”

“Elek, about that, those recruits are not clones and they are aruetiise hut’tuun or outsider cowards. They are are threat and we will kill them if they are not off the station, immediately. But that is not what I need to know from you.” She clears her throat. “Do you know what they did to you? The Kaminoans?”

“They grew me as a clone and I was trained, by some of the Mandalorians, and then by computer programs.” He looks up and chuckles. “My best battle training came from under my Jedi General who permitted me a few comforts.” He watches her response while her head was down analyzing her speech pattern and he gently clasps to her hand. “I am still a person, you don’t have to fear me Doc, and I do care about people.”

She blushes when she feels his fingers lightly touch her hand as she pulls it away. “I’m sorry I just want to be accurate for what I have to tell you, Commander Wolffe.”

“Ma’am, I have been in some very hairy combat missions. One was where I lost my eye to a Force user. The Jedi do not hide anything from me. Please, don’t have the Mandalorians hide anything from me, too. Copaani?” He says softly to her.

“Ni duini…” She closes her eyes as she realizes she spoke to him in Mando’a like he was a comrade in her unit. To her, Wolffe was a clone who could be an enemy combatant for all the political lines he crossed. While he was on her station, he will be written as an enemy combatant in her reports. But Wolffe and his clone brothers were also from a Mandalorian genetic template, which means they are of Mandalorian blood and are entitled to the same protections and rights according to Mandalorian Death Watch warrior codes. She exhales slowly as she looks into his eyes and softly touches his knee. “Commander Wolffe, you and your clone brothers have a brain implant that is hyperactivated for some reason. In your brain, your cybernetic eye interferes with the full functioning of this implant, which is inflamed and the source of your migraines. We do not know if we can give you relief unless we surgically remove them. And then, you could die.”

Wolffe watches her lips move and feels the giddiness inside him when she touches him. He was sure she would kill him, and when she did not, then put her hand on his thigh, like flower soft across his skin he felt safe. He could not take his eyes off her. Everything word from her was a song, like a work of art that paints itself. It did not matter what the news was, to him, he desires the music she sings. He smiles as she tells him what some would consider the worst health news to get. But it did not matter to him. “If I die, can I be buried on your homeworld?”

A strange ask from someone just told they may have a brain tumor disarms Vidya. “Commander Wolffe? Have you heard anything I said? I may need to surgically remove your brain implant. Are you okay with that?”

“Vidya. What planet were you born on?”

“Me’ven? Huh? I don’t see what this has to do with - .”

“Tell me, because before I die, I will visit and be buried there.” He grins. “I will know that I met the most beautiful Mandalorian woman I’ve ever seen and it will make my life worthwhile.”

She quickly checks his cybernetic eye to see if he has hallucinations and the test returns a negative result. “I would call that delusional, Commander Wolffe. You are a guest aboard my station. Don’t think I won’t throw you into space. You are still a tatugir.” She jerks away from him angrily.

Hurt his brows turn quite saddened from what he now realizes he should have kept quiet. After a long silence he speaks about his wishes. “Remove the chip. As a tatugir or clone, I’m lucky to be alive this long, and if I die in this surgery, follow your appropriate protocols; I am an enemy combatant to your neutral Mandalore.” He rises to go back to his spot looking at the expanse of space.

Vidya surprised by Wolffe’s callousness. Those parameters were untested in the data files they had about the clones. On the one-hand he was fun-loving, happy and share jokes with her. On another level, he became cold and distant. When she rebuffed his emotions it was as if she denies him from his desires and joys. He knew he was a clone and hopes were pointless. His desire was knowledge of her homeworld. She grabs his bicep and sits him down as he sat stoically. Slowly she spoke. “Ordo. I was born on planet Ordo. Just so you know, all Mandalorians are born on Mandalore…We say that to protect our homeworlds.” She smiles as she scans the final depths needs for surgery. “Commander…I apologize for the words I said to you, I don’t understand clone behavior…as well as I should. Whatever you decide, I will abide by your wishes.”

Wolffe was the kind of clone that never felt a strong desire. His feelings did not matter, but that is what he was taught, not what happened. Some clone brothers kept trinkets. Other clones collected dirt from their missions. A connection to someone outside of his clone brothers was an unspoken taboo. Attachment was forbidden as the Jedi code stated. Yet, meeting the Mandalorians was different, they were what some clones called it, their father’s people. No Jedi really knew that the clones knew they were part Mandalorian. The Jedi did not know that the clones knew of the genetically unaltered clone, Boba Fett. These were conversations kept in rumor and silent discussions. Much like Sinker and Boost knew Mando’a. Since it was not relevant to the mission and a part of their duty, it was not important to discuss. Wolffe looks at her heartbroken face and wants to hug her from all the pain that she would endure. But shared-social barriers that use touch and expression of feelings confounded him. Like most of his clone brothers, and they were told to suppress their feelings by the Kaminoans and the Jedi. Look but not touch. Enjoy the look, but lose one's life. But Vidya told him her homeworld and she was one of the few outsiders to tell him anything intimate. Her homeworld was Ordo and all Mandalorians are from Mandalore. “Ordo. Then I will visit and I will die there.” He hedges in his voice and looks at her candidly. “Dr. Vidya, I trust you. No matter what you find, I know you will help me.”

She remains quiet for a long time. “It’s Vidya Wren… My aliit name is ‘Wren’. My first name is Vidya. I go by first name to hide my family’s name from my enemies. You can call me Vidya.” Her voice sounds sweet.

Wolffe chuckles as the rumors of the layers of Mandalorian culture. “Alight, Dr. Vidya Wren.”

She exhales that their communication re-opens as her heart flutters. “After your surgery and recovery, perhaps I can give you a tour of the station?”

“I’d like that, Vidya.” He could not say her name enough.

“Ok. I’ll set up the procedure to start shortly, Wolffe.” She could not stop saying his name enough.

 

***

His eyes open to light as her face come into view. Her smile sparkles as he looks up to her. “Am I in heaven?” Wolffe squints as more of the light enters his eyes. He focuses on the droid shapes and familiar equipment. Two of his squad members, Sinker and Boost, enter with similar attire. His hair shaved with a small equilibrium droid resting on his forehead. He wants to sit up when it hits him, racing thoughts and loud voices that would not be silenced. Cries from long dead friends and he swoons in his attempts to move.

Vidya catches him and holds him back to the gurney. “Nayc, you can’t go anywhere. We’re monitoring your brainwaves as we speak. Your anxiety levels are high, like a stress from the war that the chip repressed. But we see healing of your damaged DNA and telomeres that will not cause you to age as fast.” She pauses. “Later, but the memories are an artifact of the cloning process and can be removed with more Mandalorian training that can only be taught by us.”

Sinker looks at Wolffe and then to the Vidya. “If we get the same treatment, will we go crazy, too?’

Vidya and her assistants laugh as she pressed the HoloNet recording that Bo-Katan sent her. “Do you know these clones and the persons inside the ray-shield?”

Boost speaks. “That’s Commander Fox, and the Shocktroopers. And that’s Captain Rex and General Skywalker.” He studies the HoloNet closely. “That’s Fives. When he died. For his duty.”

Vidya cuts the transmission. “Do not let your man die in vain. The chips are like deathsticks that cause an addiction to complacency and obedience. All of you have been made as slaves with no free will.”  She softly palms Wolffe’s face as reassurance. “Follow me. There is another way. The Mandalorian way. You will have the thoughts and compulsions, but they will be channeled to through the warrior codes. I will not say it is easy, but it is the third edge in this galaxy.” Vidya exits the room and goes to the ship hanger where the new recruits are brought into the area before a firing squad.

Her eyes meet Wolffe’s bewildered eyes. “Commander, your recruits were spies and sent transmissions to their academy liaison on Eriadu.” She stares at Sinker and Boost. “All clones have sanctuary aboard this vessel. They can choose freedom from the Republic by removal of their chip and be trained. If they do not choose, they will be held in our brig and handed over to your leaders. We will do no surgeries against any clone’s will.”

Wolffe mouth was dry and raspy. “What of my new recruits?”

The assistant shows a hologram of the new recruits that steal information of the base and report to a military advisor. “When they are done, return with their research and I will inform the Supreme Chancellor.” A blonde haired man, named Goriin, stood with his military designation as Lieutenant Commander.

Vidya turned to them. “Do you know of this Eriadu contact? Because he is sending ships to this location if we do not move it.”

The clones’ eyes are wide and their mouths drop by what they saw on the screen. Wolffe turns from the screen to the new recruits and then to Vidya. He rises and asks Vidya. “Are you accusing my squad of espionage?”

“I am giving you a choice. Be freed and learn our ways. Or not. Either way, I cannot determine what Mandalorian Death Watch command will order.”

“I need to deal with my squad myself. I decide discipline aboard my ship.”

“Elek. You do. On your ship. But once you board your ship, you cannot set foot upon Mandalorian assets unless you are Mandalorian.”

Sinker and Boost lean into Wolffe to confer with him. “The recruits outed us and if we allow them to return, we will die like Fives, Commander.” Sinker murmured.

Boost follows up with Sinker. “They have no honor or allegiance to us as clones.”

Wolffe studies them both at what they were saying. “You want me to let them handle it, than us? Usurp my command?” He stands walks to the location on the ship platform as the new recruits stand stripped of their armor in handcuffs. The guards stand as he walk down the aisle. The recruits stare at him with impunity. He looks in their eyes and knows they defied them as the clones leading them. His hand palms his face as the screams and cries of his fallen brothers are heard throughout his mind. He rushes to the Mandalorian guards and grabs a blaster to shoot each of the recruits in the head. As they collapse, he disposes the gun. “How’s that for dealing with traitors.”

The guards surround him to kill him and Vidya stands between them. “Standown. Bring the Commander to me. Now.” The guards grab him as he stumbles and before the Vidya and she backhands him. “For making a mess in my hanger without proper protocols. And that is your first lesson to be a Mandalorian. It starts now.” As she leaves, she stops. “Restrain him and let him ride out his warrior screams.”

 

***

 

Vidya watches Commander Wolffe and the Wolfpack train in the medical center. “How long have they been at it, Ensign?”

“They’ve been training ever since they’ve arrived. Director, they have been here a long time, but on the holofeeds the Republic does not claim they’ve lost a ship.”

She processes what Ruusan told her. “How can that be? There should be something we are picking up, unless the transmissions have been rerouted?”

“Ma’am. They have been showing us the ship.”

“I was not made aware of that. Have reported it to Command?”

“Elek Ma’am. Lieutenant Bo-Katan will arrive once you give medical clearance to the Commander Wolffe and Wolfpack.”

A chill rose through her spine as she felt disconnected from all the information. She had been engrossed with the surgeries and completing health reports, that she forgot of the daily spacestation activities. The station was not a military base. It was a private venture by Mandal Aeronautics and Health Systems. The company made resurgence after the New Mandalorians were toppled with Prime Minister Almec at the helm. Since then, Bo-Katan led the way for a free Mandalore, without governance and compliance to the Republic. But on Mandalore, there were grumbles and then there was Darth Maul and his Mandalorian Super Commandos dispatched on hidden Death Watch bases. While they were not permitted on Mandalore, these “Mauldalorians” reported to their contacts and information was fed to the spy network. Mandalorians knew that the Republic Senate was losing power, the Supreme Chancellor was gaining control like a tyrant. There was talk of several Jedi leaving the order. Even one Bo-Katan had dealings with, Ahsoka Tano. But Vidya’s concerns were on the health of her patients, which were at this time the clones who did not have some strange parasite and their self-determination was being tampered with by non-Mandalorians. The clones were given a choice to stay, and the more the Mandalorians taught the clones, the more absorbed into the culture they would become. Some began to rename themselves Mandalorian names. They also had less nightmares from past battles. The clones were unstoppable and now their psyches was unbreakable.

Vidya smiled at her observations and wrote her report to send to Death Watch Command. She proved her hypothesis: Remove the clones from a toxic demeaning situation like that in the Republic, and re-introduce and integrate them to Mandalorian culture and the nightmare artifact of the cloning process will be healed. “Done,” She exclaimed.

Wolffe stands next to her with a grin. “Finished?”

He startles her. “Elek. I just sent my report, Wolffe. Is there anything I can help you with?”

He walks toward a large window that sees the expanse of space and stares. He holds his breath at the sight and chuckles. “I never thought I would enjoy looking out into space. Do you?”

“No.” Vidya stands next to him her voice hesitates. Never could tell what his emotions were. “Perhaps I did not have the right person to appreciate it with me?”

His head quickly turns towards her. “Dr. Vidya perhaps we share a few compatible ideas unrecognized?”

“Elek.” She looks toward him. “OYA! I promised you a tour of the facility. They just finished the crops in the agricultural wing. Would you like to help me do a field assessment?” She did not wait for his response, she grabs his hand and drags him down the hall.

They walk several corridors then to the elevator shaft that took them down to the agricultural wing. As the doors open, a humidity swept their faces wetting their skin. Some of the plants were bioluminescent along with a few floating zooplankton to help with the photosynthesis. The oxygen was rich in the air causing the lightheaded giddiness welling up in Vidya. The carbon sources made compost used for fertilizer and energy. The spacestation had become a fully recyclable biome. Like a schoolgirl, Vidya bounces her datapad from one tree to the next. Wolffe smirks with amusement from her excitement. It had been a long time he saw animation and eagerness from anyone lately. But he did not like jungles because they were unsafe. There were too many hiding spots for predatory animals unseen. His mind reels as he felt unprepared. Vidya reassures Wolffe he was safe as they walked through the course brush. Water courses between in synthetic marshlands, then falls near a large space expansive window where a new meadow cultivates. She moves sits near the window. As she sites, the glow from the bioluminescence emanate and discharges off the window to the galaxy. Wolffe still antsy, sits beside her with his cautious nature for the need of preparation. He appears rigid and stiff, yet his mind ruminates on safety as his face struggles to hold his composure. Together they watched the slow rotation of the spacesation and the quiet sounds inside the greenhouse when a light rain covers them.

“Are you alright, Wolffe? We can leave.” She notices he dislike of rain on his face and removes her labcoat to cover his head. She closes her datapad and held it close to her body where she was wearing a tank top and a skirt.

Wolffe finds her scantily clad body odd for a Mandalorian woman, as warriors do not wear skirts according to his training protocols.  He laughs awkwardly. His wants to emotionally distance himself from feelings of frivolity, like physical attraction. The clone chip inside his brain monitored and controlled any close relationships or bonds developed with other creatures. He felt no emotional bonds and then when his chip failed, he felt the bond to another being, but had social anxiety. He was flustered by what he saw in Vidya as his heart races when he sees her warrior’s body. It was alluring, sexy and enticing. But he was unsure of his desires. He wanted to touch her body, feel it in his hands and squeeze her form. His glower brown eyes stares at her turned away from him completely unassuming. He salivates to sneak a touch as if she was her prey, until, he felt her arm reach for him to pull him close to her. Confounded how she knew he would not devour her, he calms his impulses and reserves himself from his Republic training days aboard a Venator class Starship. “Vidya, I’m glad you brought me here. It’s humid, but you have done well to grow a good place.” He notices water crept through her wet hair as her eyes sparkle from the biolumenscence. She was breathing rapidly and he felt it, and through her smile, her elation increases his desire.

“Vor’e Wolffe.” Vidya a bit unsure what Wolffe was doing, she removes her boots and plops her feet into the ground mashing the mud about. “I use to do this as a little girl and my father would always call me his little Gamorrean. I would paint mud pictures on the walls and my inspiration would be his stories. My mother would cook me uj’alayi cakes and we would stare at the stars from my homeworld.” She could tell that her utterances were nervous talk that threw Wolffe off. He had a vibe, but it was not violent. She felt giddy in her stomach. She could tell he wants something different, like more than a confidante, more than a friend. _Is this clone flirting with me?_   She thought as it had been eons since she spoke to a male in that tone. _His thinking is like a boy, but he's a man in that department._ That is standard convention, but what they saw in combat, no man ever sees. And yet, the way his eyes searched her body and the kinds of remarks made, it was obvious, the emotions of this boy-man-soldier just too a leap into mature adulthood. Then she discovers her hand rests on his thigh.

Wolffe closes his eyes as he imagines a mother and a father. His idea of that concept was the lowly planets of families he saved and reports. A family, clan or an aliit as the Mandalorians call it, is a bond that is emotional and honorable. The Mandalorians taught him, family first and it starts with the children. He sighs at the dream of what his aliit would be like as he studies how the warm rains drench her body and her soft hand presses his thigh. He moves gently grabs her hand and moves it slowly up his torso leaning her close to him as his eyes lock on to hers. He savors her scent that permeates through the water, while her lips pursed to breathe.

She pulls away from him as his grip tightens around her wrist in fear that she might have to use her training against him if he becomes emotionally unstable and violent. But the mist collects on her eyelids and there was no visibility, until she sees his teeth from a cheesy grin. “Lek… Wolffe?” She laughs and then she lifts her hands to his strong jaw and presses his smooth lips. It was a kiss that lingers for a long time.

Wolffe absorbs her kiss as if years of paranoia dissipate. Desire to connect with a woman overrules his compulsion for violence. He grabs her close to him to feel more of her in him as strange feelings he never knew existed pour out from him almost like an automatic program had been activated. As he clasps her back with one one his other wet hand moves up the ever changing landscape of Vidya’s body. Some visits of his hand are longer than other. Then he looks into her eyes and back to her landscape and tastes each of its landmarks. Like charting a map he tracks his position like a wolf that brings him new emotions, new discoveries, and new human connections. He craves the more landscape he exposes, from his hand, to his fingers, until he hears her gasp. Frighten, he peaks to her. “Did I hurt you?”

She shakes her head breathlessly as she feels his tongue swirl and tastes her. She feels the strength of his hands pick her entire body and rips her off her garments. The very thought of a clone being that vigorous with her was unethical. But then ethics left when she watched his muscles flex while he exercised and trained. Everything in her mind screamed but her body sent those emotions back and threw caution away.

He feels a rise in himself, and stops to regain control. “Vidya. Are you sure? I’m just a clone.”

She removes the rest of her garments and his shirt rapidly. “Elek. Al’vende.”

Wolffe felt a surge of energy unlike he had ever had before. There were rumors, but nothing like that described. He wants her and he wants to touch deep inside her soul. She eases his mind and all he could think about is aliit, clan or family. He was going to show this woman, a Mandalorian woman, that he is a man. She will be his first. She would be his last. But he knew what he felt is Mandalorian. He closes his eyes and then speaks. “I will be with you because, Ni kartyli darasuum gar, cyar’ika.” He felt that his idea of the galaxy as a clone is now a Mandalorian.

 

 ***

 

 

> _A holoscan appeared on the palm of this gauntlet: a hooded man._
> 
> _“It is time,” the holoscan said. “Execute Order 66.”_
> 
> _Cody responded as he had been trained since before he’d awaken in his crèche-school. “It will be done, my lord.”_
> 
> _The holoscan vanished. Cody stuck the comlink back into its concealed recess and frowned down toward where Kenobi rode his dragonmount into selflessly heroic battle._
> 
> _Cody was a clone. He would execute the order faithfully, without hesitation or regret. But he was also human enough to mutter glumly, “Would it have been too much to ask for the order to have come through before I gave him back the bloody lightsaber…?”_


	3. Truth Enlightens And Your Heart Will Follow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bo-Katan has procured a prototype Separatist battleship to fight the Imperial Star Destroyers. With its new kind of energy weapon, the Mandalorian Death Watch can defend themselves against the Empire. But there still remain live battledroids hidden in the ship, which she barely can defend herself against since the deactivator key she bough from Jabba the Hutt failed. Obi-Wan Kenobi, very reluctant to leave his hidden location in the Outer Rim and fight the Separatists again came with her and did flawlessly like the Jedi General he use to be. And Bo-Katan reminded him of Satine, but quite capable of holding her own in a fight. He knew he would not have to worry about her, but he did and was unsure why until the right moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part is really a break up into 3 chapters. It was an intense performance. There is some explicit activity here. But will be added later. This is a WIP.

Bo-Katan smacks her lips with a sing-song purr. “I am sorry Ben. I do appreciate your assistance, but I’m tired and I must find quarters. Why don’t we do rounds after my refresher, okay?”

His sly grin melts her insides and she has to scamper away not oogle him and his grin. Not to drool over a Jedi. Obi-Wan was never attractive to her physically until this time, after this mission to salvage the new Separatist Recusant. She had seen him in a hologram of her sister’s who fawned on him like a lost puppy, she had seen him in person when he arrived on Mandalore and had to brace her squad member to not shoot him; and she had seen him on Tatooine to retrieve the key for the droid control ship they stole together. Throughout this time, his slight gestures and comments never dawn on her that Obi-Wan was flirting, only until now, and she found him attractive after they took command on this battleship. But why, now?

Flustered by the sensual tone of his voice that makes her body tingle sensual thoughts, his tenor lowers her guard as she felt exposed and she knew he saw all her vulnerabilities. Jedi manipulate, and Obi-Wan spoke sweet with a taste of uj cake which she salivates to devour. Then her mind trips over scattered items along the hall and reminds her of her duty, as she straights her stride becomes syncopated with the ire in her forehead. Her thoughts betray her in that Obi-Wan was a tool she needs to use to complete a mission for a starship. She reaches the gray-green officer’s quarters where she will clean herself up.

When she finds the officer’s stateroom, and the bed cushion smells of new manufacturer’s scent and dusty plastique. The Separatist droids made these beds, new, sterile and untouched. A good shower would sterilize her, like these droids sterilized the room. Sterilize her from the passions of the day. That was her hope. Sterilize her from the fighting, from the Clone Wars, and from the announcement of this new Galactic Empire. But her thoughts focused on a new threat out of Coruscant, the Emperor and a large hulk in black known as Darth Vader. What could sterilize her from this new sludge?

“Mandalorians will not be caught off guard from this,” she sings to herself as she finds the refresher. She wave her hand under the faucet to activate the sink that gurgles air, and then freezing water. The water flits her nose from the chemical manufactured smell, but Bo-Katan uses it to wipe the soot off her face. The frost freezes her hand as she slides over the glass mirror and stares at her streaked distorted reflection in it. A lengthy stare as her head tilts adjusting her armor, pockets and other items. Then her hands tremble nerves wracked from the day’s battle. She inhales as her eyes droop to see her true self. A foot soldier in a never-ending battle of freedom. She tires of it as she envisions the entirety of the direction of her life. Doubt creeps in her mind as her hollowed face is mesmerized by the intensity of her green eyes and the slow lift of her chest from exhaustion.

Her eyelids close slowly for one more blink before she turns off the water spigot. Suddenly, three yellow lights intensify as a huge robotic arm lunges toward her and claws for her wrists. Energy surges inside her as she defends herself by dodging the claws and ducking underneath the sink to see the chassis of another Super Tactical Sentient droid. She clicks the heel of her boot as a small boot blade clicks out and kicks the chassis. But she manages to scrape the metal. She reaches for her disruptor gun, but the droid knocks it out of her hands. Quickly she eyes her gauntlet knife to stab it into one of its eyes, but it activates a drill bit and impale her side. Energy drains from her body, which causes her to scream as loud as she her lungs, but the droid wraps its claw around her neck to choke her. She coughs and hacks with an attempt to press her sensor for her squad to help.

Bo-Katan knew she would die, but death did not scare her. She knew her devotion to a free Mandalore was her salvation. She hopes she would die as an old woman, a blessing that all Mandalorians hope for, but a death by a Clone Wars battledroid was a satisfactory demise for this battleship. She thought - perhaps that is what my father and Satine wanted - to die of old age. She closes her eyes to welcome it.

 

But, Obi-Wan senses Bo-Katan in danger through the Force. He rises from the Admiral’s chair without speaking to her squad and races to her location. A bulkhead blocks him from her as he yells through it and banging it with his fists. “BO!”

The reply were machine switches to a vocabulator box and sound checks.

“BLAST! Tactical sentient droid.” Obi-Wan’s feels a strange electric power that burns in his stomach and unleashes out his hands to blast the bulkhead doors and they fly across the room. With speed, he knocks one leg off the battledroid. Then he lifts the droid off the ground and Force crushes it like a can. As the droid’s machine eyes appear in shock, he activates his lightsaber and slices the arm that chokes Bo-Katan and it drops her like a doll. He circles around with his lightsaber and decapitates the droid’s head. Bo-Katan fell to floor unconscious.

He regains his stance and waits to confirm destruction of the droid. When he sees Bo-Katan lying there unconscious, a rage-filled shriek releases from his voice that cries from long ago. He screams about his master, Qui-Gon Jinn who died in his arms after ordering him to train Anakin. He screams when Anakin died and became a Sith named Darth Vader where he has to leave a possesses burnt Anakin to die on Mustafar. Obi-Wan shrieks because he loses another person he cares deeply for. The lifeforce of Bo-Katan was gone. He reaches for her and holds her in his arms knowing he was too attached to her, as a Jedi. But, she was different.

When the Jedi Order was alive and keepers of the peace, his composure would be focused. The Jedi Order and his duty to them would be laser sharp. The Jedi Order lost him the love he cared for deeply, Satine Kryze - Bo-Katan’s sister. But he maintained his duty even then. This time, the Jedi Order was no more and another close person, another death, had wrung in his arms. Obi-Wan squeezes his eyes as he cries and his tears fall. As a man, he feels loss. He was not a god. Jedi are not gods. The Force do not make gods. The dark side were no gods. But his soul and spirit screams to turn away from it and use it. He yells to the dismembered dead droid. “You took away all that I love away from me!” His lightsaber rolls to the ground. “Bo…No…not again. I’m too late, again. I not fast enough…Bo…Bo…I-I love you…”

He clasps her closer to his arms, as his tears run from his face to hers. A Jedi’s tears are rare, and Obi-Wan hid his on the inside. Call it Jedi training, but the Jedi Order was no more and his wet tears found their way from his eyes to Bo-Katan’s emotionless face.

Then, Bo-Katan jerks alive as her eyes wide in frighten surprise. “Ben!”

After a long slumber she awakens as her thin lips struggle to find her smile from what she heard. “Thank you, Je’tii.” She twists around in his arms to catch her bearings as her brow furrows upon the realization he said he loves her. She stares into his eyes her heart palpitates. “You love me, Ben?” Then turn away, as her voice stutters. “I don’t know what to say, other than…I know?”

Obi-Wan eyes widen as if a glow of light reignites him then turn up with a grin. A euphoria rises his huge smile as he embraces her. The soft tenor of his voice returns with a chuckle. “How long have you known?”

“I knew during that dreadful day on Mandalore when I saved your shebs. I didn’t want to believe it because I knew you had a thing for my sister. So, I stayed away out of respect.” His lips writhe around as she longs to know how they feel against hers as she watches his eyes.

He knew he felt something more that day too. When Satine died. The Duchess of Mandalore, who ruled and brought peace to the planet for the tiny amount time. For warriors that preferred war as an art form. Satine, Obi-Wan loved her, but not enough sacrifice his duty as a Jedi and leave the Order. Satine who had professed her love for him in her dying breath, as Darth Maul murdered her with a saber blade. Something that could obliterate his trust in sentient beings, and Obi-Wan remained ever more stoic against the dark side.

Then Anakin. His memory lapses as to what he had to do. But the striking blow he could not do. As much as it pains him, that duty to the Jedi as a full Jedi in the Order, without attachment, was his last one. Because he was attached. He had attached to Bo-Katan on this side job to see if he could handle off-planet, again. While the Clone Wars left him numb and like a vacuum in his heart, Bo-Katan brought his confidence back up. Way up in ways that honestly, Satine could not.

Obi-Wan reminisces about a Mandalorian warrior woman who races to him, as she takes down Maul’s henchmen. Her combat moves rapid, and as he watches, a surge of energy enthralls him into the action of this woman. By the time he realizes she was Satine’s sister, Bo-Katan, he had fallen in love with her at first sight. When there was the Jedi Order, his smitten love was forbidden. He always followed that. The reasons were you lose the one you love, and he lost Satine. He loved Satine since he was a padawan, a boy. Satine was beautiful, dainty, and fragile. Fragility in times of battle can cause huge losses. But, Bo-Katan, innervates him back to vitality. She excites him. Excitement brings his security.

She in his arms at that time, causes him to smile as he holds her gaze. The Force gave him a new chance with invigoration. His eyes lock in to the ecstatic jolts as that sit and enjoy the moment. Obi-Wan’s thumb slides across her bottom lip and he senses her desire for him to kiss them. He wants to be hers and she his. He leans closer to her lips, but not all the way. He gave her room to pull away and he closes his eyes let’s go of the Force.

The warmth of his breath intoxicates Bo-Katan to a giddiness as she feels the twitch of his whiskers bristles on her lips. She blushes with girlish innocence when she realizes that he was her sister’s Jedi lover. But those thoughts quickly faded because the electricity between them could not focus on the past. Bo-Katan sees Obi-Wan as a man who saved her and desiring to kiss her. She clasps his chin with her hands to extend her neck and taste those lips of his. Every red-flag clarions in her head about how he refused her sister for the Jedi Order. But at this moment, she ignores the warnings to truly know how committed this Jedi’s was to his codes. In fact, it was as if she was compelled to exact his desirous will, something her sister would never do. Something her sister was incapable of doing. Bo-Katan was a Mandalorian warrior woman and she took what she wants in her desires.


	4. Concordia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Siege of Mandalore was done by the Republic, but the conquering of Mandalorian Space and outlining systems, including the Mandalore's moon, Concordia was done by the nascent Empire by a very capable, precise captain named, Thrawn, a Chiss a few years after the new Empire reorganized the galactic departments with a new leader named Darth Vader. There were no Jedi, except the one the Bo-Katan found on Tatooine.

Bo-Katan wakes up in a sweat. In her quarters, alone. What happened? She clasps for her gauntlets and estimates how long she slept. Not long enough. The new feeling she had was of a stolen, brand new, never been used Recusant Destroyer from Christophosis with Obi-Wan Kenobi, now a rogue Jedi with this new Empire searching for him. She kept his whereabouts a closely guarded secret. This change over from the Old Republic to the Empire seems strange. Her nose turns up from the stench of the changes. Mandalore as it seems lost to the Empire and its dictum. Death Watch does what it does best - act on the peripheries. Why did she give Mandalore away ruminates in her mind. It felt like a Jedi Mind Trick, but with the choke of the Sith. Bo did not like either Force user. This last mission with Obi-Wan brought a warm smile to her face as she stretches her arms in her underarmor. “Are they getting tight on me?” She wonders when her gauntlet sensor alerts her to a call. “Su’cuy? Hi. Hello. I’m up.”

Vidya, with a crying infant. “Are you almost ready? You still are standing in for her, right?”

“I’ll be there Vid’ika. How is ner’Manda’ikaad?” she slurs her words half asleep and cracks her back to get ready for the ritual.

“Jate. We are all good. I’ll see you there.” The comlink cuts from Vidya’s end.

Bo-Katan rubs her eyes as she finds bits of sleep. She finds herself more exhausted after her last mission with Obi-Wan. Her thoughts whisper through her mind about that mission. His battle tactics extraordinary. The way he operated the command post. It was the reason why they called him General Kenobi. Pri Vizsla did not have the battle skills like Kenobi. Kenobi was level headed and he cared deeply for those he commanded by returning to minefield to get her people who had fallen behind to get the Recusant ship. Pri Vizsla would have left them there. But that was not what left an indelible impression on Bo-Katan. What she grins about as she wraps her arms around herself is his touch along her bare skin as she lies next to him to stare into his eyes. She wonders if that is what her sister, Satine, saw. Did her sister, who loved Obi-Wan, who died for Obi-Wan, felt his warm kiss along her body, too? The feelings move up her spine as she rises with some dizziness as she steadies herself and feels her bloat. “Not that long ago since we, Ben and I, were together.”

She hears another alert after she leaves the refresher and ignores it. More drills. It was not necessary she do them. She quickly puts on her attire and armor which feels tighter than normal. “I may have to let this out.” Not accepting the fact she gorges herself on food like that worm, Jabba the Hutt.

She races to the hanger as a small squad of Mandalorians assemble without their helmets. It was the ritual of “Ijaat Adi’ika”, the Mandalorian promise to raise a child as Mandalorian under the six-actions, Resol’nare. A christening of sorts. Bo-Katan would be the godmother of the child, Vidya’s child, her best friend’s daughter. Bo-Katan would be partly responsible for the child. It was a ritual not to take lightly. Vidya’s child was 4 years old, somewhat old for the ritual, but given what Death Watch had to do, the leader could still enact the ritual. Vidya’s commanding officer was Commander Adenn Krakko, Meltch Krakko’s brother officiated the affair.

He spoke Mandalorian in regards to the duties of the godparents and all other Mandalorians that care for this child. Recitations made and they complete the ritual. Bo-Katan picks up the baby girl and holds her close. Smiles. Pride. Beautiful.

From the corner of Bo-Katan’s eyes, fire blazes through the base of Concordia. The smell of burnt metal as buildings and starships topple as more bombs puncture the ground. Krakko yells to everyone to run. Bo-Katan clasps onto the baby girl as she races to an off world transport in the tunnels. Vidya follows her wanting to take her daughter back.

Bo-Katan dares not turn back lest it slow her down and she felt slow this morning. “C’mon Vidya, we’ve got to get out of this.” The baby girl cries for her mother but Bo-Katan will not let her go.

Vidya sees these new droids, probedroid, called Viperdroids that fire at different people. She grabs her pistols and aims for the one glass bubble eye to knock them down.

Bo-Katan grabs for her pistol and fires at parastormtroopers that shot every Mandalorian. “This is insane? Is the Empire crazy?” She races to the slowly closing armored door that has the subterranean starships to take off rapidly off-world. “C’mon Vidya keep up with me, we will get Sab’ika safe.”

After Bo-Katan said those words, a probedroid gets between Vidya and her. Bo-Katan heard her voice between the screams of Sabine. She made it to the door before closure and Vidya would not make it.

From the sky, a bolt blast of the orbital bombing vaporized Vidya with her mouthing, “I’m sorry, Sab’ika.”

“NAYC!” Bo-Katan screams as one of the Mandalorian men yanks her and Sabine through the armored door that closes.

Bo-Katan screams at all of the men and women enraged that they closed the door too soon. She became their commanding officer and she knew it would take the Empire a long time to get through the natural Mandalorian Iron Ore on Concordia. Their best bet was to find a trajectory to escape their moon without being vaporized.

After moments, Bo-Katan collects herself and gains intelligence who is bombing them. The reports her squad delivers to her shocks her. “A Chissese?”

Then a holorecorded message airs:

This is Captain Thrawn of the Imperial Star Destroyer Entropy, surrender and your people will not suffer...Submit the coordinates for your surrender.

The message replays several times. Then Sabine looks up to Bo-Katan quietly. “Manda’buir. gedet'ye.”

Bo-Katan knows her squad is not battle tested. After a long wait, she presses the coordinates into the holocomm. “We surrender,” the word means give up in a distaste for all that is Mandalorian. Bo-Katan grimaces after she says it.

Captain Thrawn nods without any expression and agrees to meet for their unconditional surrender. "We have your coordinates not, Lieutenant Commander Bo-Katan."


	5. The Thrawn Accords on Mandalore I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only Captain Thrawn is able to invade and conquer Mandalore to Imperial rule. But he had to serve at a regent for Mandalore before a Moff was selected. What he discovered during his rule, is they Mandalorians, were more creative and inventive that what was let on by the rest of the galaxy. He took one Mandalorian child under his tutelage and taught her art and its interpretation, something forbidden by the Mandalorians and the Chiss, which he was.

Bo-Katan raises her hands in surrender, and a child that accompanies her mimicks her as they disembark from her shuttle  in the Star Destroyer hanger bay. She and the girl was captured by the Star Destoyer's tractor beam. The stormtroopers arrest her and the child as they yell at them and put manacles on Bo-Katan's wrists, but the little girl races toward a screen grate that covers an duct and hides into a wall as the stormtroopers fire their blasters. Bo-Katan yells from the confusion and round house kick knocks them out to stop them. “WAYII! Stop. She’s just a girl. She doesn’t understand...we surrender.”

The stormtroopers keep firing until an Imperial officer enters the hanger and yells for them to stop. They salute him in his neat green standard Imperial uniform and blue squared badge as he lowers his raised hand to his back with a smug stare of disgust at Bo-Katan. "Mandalorians. Defiant to the death."

Two stormtroopers fire on the child, a girl named Sabine, with blasters set set to stun as they knock her out from the wall. They run to her unconscious body and drag a 4 year old girl her across the floor.

The lieutenant clears his throat as he glowers at Bo-Katan like she is a terrorist. “Regent of Mandalore, I am Lieutenant Chaquaur. I am to escort you to your holding cell where you, as the representative of Mandalore, will prepare to appear before the HoloNet Imperial News service to indicate your terms for the Mandalorian sector's surrender. How you are related to the Duchess Satine Kryze is beyond me.”

“Tell your Captain that the handling of prisoners of war is against their Republic codes, Lieutenant,” Bo-Katan spits as she chuckles from the sound of his name to mean "theif" in the Mandalorian language.

“This is the Empire, and you are terrorists when you defied the true leader of Mandalore the King on Kalevala of House Kryze.”

She lunges at him with her arms bound and held back by stormtroopers. She wrestles from her arms as her light eyes flash before the Lieutenant Chaquaur; and then she grins as she realizes they cannot handle her and scares the squad as they aim their weapons toward her. “Hah! House Kryze is not Mandalorian."

The Lieutenant stands as sweat beads from his forehead. "You Mandalorians are merely savages that require taming. Either you learn it or we will breeding clone it out of you."  
  
She stares into his eyes with a sneer as she smells his stink to see what his sexual response would be. His fear reeks of nuna osik to her. His first weak spot was his Imperial uniform. She smiles as she watches his crotch harden because he desires it. "If we were to ever meet again, di’kutla, it will be at the end of my blaster, thief!”

The stormtroopers yank her away and the lieutenant clasps his collar to exhale in fear.

She is thrown into her holding cell, when she sees a neatly folded dark navy-colored dress commensurate of her sister’s reign, Satine Kryze.  The dress was spartan in its design, modest in Mandalorian fashion. She frowns when a protocol droid enters the cell to assist her to change into the dress. “Lek-lek. I got it. I have to wear this, okay. I understand. Tell them not to hurt ner'Manda'adi'ika. She does not understand your protocols.”

The droid does not comply with her requests, and removes her clothes. It pushes her into the refresher for more than 5 seconds. The steam squirts on her naked body to clean it and the air blows to dry her. No moisturizers, to her dry chaff skin, only a foul stench perfume in the water.  She covers the lenses of the droid to not film her during her beauty regimen, but the droid switches to infrared vision for security. It monitors how she slides on her stockings, and then the undergarments, and steps into 20 cm heeled stilettos. To her surprise, everything fit, snugly as well as the brassiere. Then the dress, though a bit tight, was the exact size and comfortable. To her amazement was how careful the selection was made when the droid hands her a Mandalorian Iron Heart choker, which accompanies the dress, perfectly. The precision of clothing choices have never been predicted for her. That was her sister’s realm. Bo felt, special, but odd that her exact measurements, color preferences and jewelry selections were easily determined. It made her predictable and very uneasy as a warrior.

The door locks unlatch from a signal by the droid as stormtroopers grab her biceps to escort her to the area of the press conference. Long winding grey halls seem to to snake forever confound Bo-Katan in a Star Destroyer ship of its size, until she sees a clearing into a large hanger with several Imperial TIE fighters parked with old Republic and Mandalorian ships not decommissioned, but their sigils removed. Then, she sees the Captain, who turns to her with a grin of astonishment and accomplishment. He rose from a chair in a crisp black and blue uniform that had a Chiss sigil on his left arm and an Imperial sigil on his right. He skin was blue and his eyes were red-in-red. His stare threw stakes that felt like they pierce her heart. More males to subjugate her leadership and command. She felt felt naked and realizes he selected her attire with her exact measurements, sizing and to her liking. Nearly with mechanical droid perfection. She sees him salivate on his lips as if he was gloating on his Pygmalion artistic achievement. 

 “Congratulations Lieutenant Commander, seems you have triumphed for your people. For Mandalore.” He announces before the small Imperial audience as the holovids float and record.

The HoloNet Imperial News holocams flash while aboard his Star Destroyer, _The Entropy_.

The stormtrooper push Bo-Katan to stand next to him as a congratulatory champagne flute is shoved in her hand. He smiles for the holovid with pride as he wraps his arm around her. The entire scene sickens her as she never touches her champagne. She sneers through her fake smiling teeth. “KRIFF you Chissese. There was no deal for Mandalore. You Imperial di'kutlae think you can come here and rule Mandalorians. Rule us? Besides, based on your weapons that you used to bomb us, your ship is not remotely a part of Sienar systems, is it?”

Thrawn cheerful in his grin with a chuckle as he feigns ignorance. “Ah, Lieutenant Commander, surely you jest in us not knowing about your Keldabe capital class ships, or that Confederacy of Independent Systems Recusant you stole from the Christophosis shipyards,” he sips his Jogan brandywine champagne as he carefully evaluates her mannerisms. “Mandalorians, defiant to the end.”

Bo-Katan smells the sweet alcoholic beverage, then chugs it down to stave off her pent up rage. The presumption of the Chiss quickens her stomach and she wants nothing to have anything to do with Imperials. The cool liquid bubbles down her digestive tract as she realizes he stares at her to uncomfortable scared feeling. That was a strange new emotion that set in her as she had more of them. It would sets her rage off more to a sneer. “Hut'uun sheb'urcyn Chissese, let me make it clear, my nephew, Korkie Kryze may have agreed to your conditions, but you lied to him, and you have overstepped your boundaries of lawful sector control and you know it. Remember this one misstep when you are caught between Mandalorian Death Watch’s crosshairs.”

Thrawn eyes did not flinch nor his retort. “Lieutenant Commander don't make a mistake and delude yourself into thinking that your rogue group can mount an offensive.”

Bo-Katan bites her tongue as she smiles to new flashes from the holovids. "Doesn't it bother you, that I can hardly see you without my HUD in ner'buy'ce di'kutla, or helmet since you don't understand Mandalorian.”

Thrawn turns from them and moves his arm around her body to escort her away from the cameras. His face unshakable from her onslaughts of her derision. He cradles his drink gingerly sipping it watching her carry her empty flute. “Lieutenant Commander,” he says softly with concern. “You tremble quite a bit since your last mission, as if you are a bit sick. Are you alright, I'm quite concerned?”

Bo-Katan glares as his voice had soften to a level said to lovers entwined. “I have not given up on freedom, Imperial kebiin sheb'urcyn. I am here to broker this deal from your bombardment of Concordia and hand over the i'kaad to you for your bantha osik academy you are going to build here on Mandalore. I'm her godmother, her Manda'buir, and I promised her mother I'd keep her safe before you vaporized her.”

Thrawn's eyebrows rise as he understands some Mandalorian. “What baby?” His voice booms to commands all those present their attention and in the most awkward manner. His tone cuts through the stifled air with cat-like stealth as he grips her elbow and calls his guards over to them. “What child, Lieutenant Commander? Yours?” 

Bo-Katan head tilts as the lines around her nose flexes to a loud sneer. “Oh? You did not think your orbital bombardment would not kill babies did you? Babies, Captain. You killed them, but not this one. Sab'ika is my goddaughter and she will go unscathed in your Imperial Academy on Mandalore. You will promise me that you will be her Officerial Patron. As to her qualifications, I will make you accept her here and now. Those are my terms to stop any continuing actions.”

Thrawn wrestles his arm away from her with anger from the poor intelligence about children on Concordia. He glares as he thinks how the Empire kills entire families without regard. No military officer worth his rank targets innocents and children. The latest statements by Bo-Katan could be a ruse, but that is when the stormtroopers report of a child dumped into a holding cell. He regains his regal composure. “Now-now Lieutenant Commander, terrorist attacks by known terrorist organizations such as Death Watch, will be met with military actions as decreed by the Emperor himself. My jurisdiction, as I have decided is if Death Watch is using children as shields, then the Empire cannot be held at fault as - how do you say it - hut'tuunyc? Besides, the Empire does not negotiate with terrorists.” He places hands behind him as he knows exactly what he said to her and how much her ego would react. Her face incredulous as her eyes narrow more. “The Emperor only wants peace throughout the galaxy.”

Bo-Katan lashes out at him and spits on his face and head butts him down. She kicks him until his guards pelt her with multiple stuns from their stun sticks. She screams in pain watching him slowly rising and he punches her face until it is bloodied. Her breath heavy from the hits she takes to protect her one Mandalorian child in her care and any other child in her future care.

Thrawn grabs his handkerchief from a hidden pocket and wipes off her spittle and blood as he sees her strength to take a beating. “Guards. Stop!” They see his arm rise and his hand flick to tell the droids to bring him this godchild of Bo-Katan. “Her name is Sabine?" He squats to the girl’s eye level with a smile as she grabs for his hair and nose. He flinches back with a chuckle. “Mandalorians are cute when they're babies. How unfortunate that these children have bad mothers who prefer to be thug terrorists and fight and are incapable of giving the best in mothering and loving environment to their future.” He rises with a stony red eyed glare. “Lieutenant Commander, I want you to tell me, who flew that brand new Confederacy of Independent Systems Droid Controlled Recusant you salvaged. I know that flight maneuvers like those were not that like Mandalorians. They were not like any I've ever seen.”

Suddenly, a Gonzati Cruiser runs alongside the Star Destroyer and rams it while it fires a torpedo into the hull.

Commander Wolffe announces. “I want a clean rescue for the Lieutenant Commander and the child. Minimize all casualties.” He repels down to the gashed hole and fires on the stormtroopers unable to make their shots.

Bo-Katan recognizes the ship, and then smiles. “Chissese, Ke nu jurkad sha Mando'ade, burc'ya!” A recently liberated Wolfpack clone battalion and they grab her as she reaches for Sabine Wren."

Thrawn's eye move into slits as his hands shook behind him. He orders the stormtroopers to surround and imprison Sabine Wren with a droid cage.  “Yes. And you Mandalorians also say family is more than blood, which is not true. Watch outsiders teach your children to erode your culture at its core!" He fires his pistol at the mix of clone troopers and Mandalorians. His stormtroopers surround him as he orders. “Call in for support, Lieutenant.” He races to a shuttle to go to Mandalore. “Fire a blockade cannon at my ship's coordinates in 5 second pulses.” His demeanor calm as he sets he finger on his lips thinking about how a Gonzati Cruiser appeared without being noticed full of clones.

Commander Wolffe grabs Bo-Katan and yells. “Let's go! We cannot save her.”

The Wolfpack surround them for protection and fires on the stormtrooper as the Chiss officer leaves with a child in tow, and too far to grab without more casualties.

Bo-Katan wrestles from Wolffe shrill in her voice. “Commander Wolffe let me go! I promised her! I promised Vidya! Don't you tatugire feel anything?” She wrangles from him and he grabs again to get her out of there. “You know she's yours, di'kutla Tatugir! Nayc! Vidya died protecting her for the Mandalorian way... NAYC! I MUST—“

Commander Wolffe wants to stun her but looks at her widened eyes with fear and grabs her shoulders. “Bo. I do feel. But if we don't get out of here, we will have to fight a fleet of Imperial ships and he - the Overlord wants you back at HQ to regroup. I can't let my lapses in judgment with Dr. Vidya Wren--" Sighs and looks down not wanting to recount that. “Sabine is safer on Mandalore. I will make sure of that. We will make sure of that.”

The Wolfpack jump on a retrofitted Mandalorian Gauntlet Fighter with the entire rescue team. The clones watch Bo-Katan collapse in tears at the loss of her goddaughter in complete silence.

 

Read this part afterward: <http://archiveofourown.org/works/6466003/chapters/16380655>

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a piece which will cross between both Bo-Katan, Sabine and Thrawn story fanfictions. How else will Mandalore be conquered? Only Thrawn was capable of defeating them space naval tacticians.
> 
> Feel free to read afterward here: [The Thrawn Accords on Mandalore II](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6466003/chapters/16380655)


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